After it was revealed that West New York Mayor Felix Roque’s slate pulled off a clean sweep in yesterday’s municipal election, his main adversary in the crowded race, Commissioner Count Wiley, said he gave the election “everything I had.”
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By Katherine Guest and John Heinis
After West New York United campaign manager Pastor Rafael Sanchez, Jr. announced that Wiley was defeated by Roque by 727 votes, tears streamed down shocked and disappointed faces.
“We have our official results. The results show for the municipal election 2015 that we will remain with the same mayor for the next four years. We lost by 2 percent of the vote,†said Sanchez.
There were 19 candidates on the ballot, but most of the public concentrated on the rivalry between Wiley and Roque. Unofficial results show that Roque’s slate — Susan Colacurcio, Gabriel Rodriguez, Margarita Guzman and Cosmo Cirillo — swept Tuesday’s election.
Later this week, provisional or emergency ballots will be counted, according to the town clerk’s office.
As somber voters rallied together outside of the West New York United headquarters at 5808 Hudson Ave., Wiley said he had no regrets about this election, despite coming up short.
“The main thing is that I had a lot peace within myself because I gave everything I had. I have nothing to regret. I didn’t hold back. I made the sacrifice. I can’t say I didn’t do something I should’ve done. I was very competitive in this campaign.”
After proclaiming “I love you West New York,” chants of “Wiley!” filled the streets.
“They never thought I could come to this level and compete at this level … I spent eight years of my life, and I wish I could’ve taken it further, but this is what the people chose so this is what they got,” said Wiley.
West New York United commissioner candidate Mryli Sanchez said she felt voter complacency was the campaign’s biggest downfall.